A Brave New World
by NiniriAZ
Summary: Who is Elspeth, and what connection does she have to the missing Psylocke? Captain Britain finds out the hard way that his "new" sister is far more than mortal...
1. A Brave New WorldChapter One

A Brave New World  
  
Disclaimer: All characters recognisably Marvels belong to them, the story to me.  
  
Elspeth felt groggy, 'cause she'd had another of those damned migraines again, last night.  
  
There was only one way to get rid of the damn things, too: take some stiff scrip medicine   
  
and knock herself out, and sleep the whole thing off over the next 12 hours or so...  
  
She rubbed her eyes and pulled off the black bandanna-blindfold thatblocked the light   
  
from her eyes, and tried to sit up. Her head spun, as she fervently wished the room would   
  
quit moving! This was one of the worst she'd had in months, and it'd left her weak as a  
  
newborn kitten.  
  
She thought she felt the faint concern of friends somewhere in her house,but her psychic abilities   
  
were unreliable, though hypersensitive after one of her infamous 'dazzle' headaches.  
  
What she needed was something for her upset stomach, and then some food--though that   
  
was the last thing in the world she wanted, Elspeth knew she needed to eat, or she'd only feel   
  
worse after the medicine wore off.  
  
She staggered in the direction of the bathroom, and it took a few momentsfor her to realize that   
  
this wasn't even her room... and the bathroomitself was bigger than her whole flat! This   
  
realization sharpened herfocus a little, as she looked around for some melanoma. Someone was   
  
playinga real joke on her, or she was having one of "those" dreams that oftenaccompanied her headaches.  
  
She touched the cool marble, and gazed out the window to see the magnificent Atlantic sunset over the   
  
beach. A cool breeze ruffled her long hair, serving to further orient her. It was amongst a postcard   
  
perfect sight....  
  
She wondered at the clarity of her sight, and touched her temples: no glasses? Normally she couldn't   
  
make out anything clearly from more than 50 ft away with out them...  
  
Not that this part of the 'dream' bothered her, mind you. She began tofeel more alert as she noticed   
  
small things: the cat rubbing around herankles, the cockatoo on his roost in the corner; the feeling   
  
that she hadsuddenly grown, and the seeming clarity of her psychic abilities...  
  
There were people nearby, down on the beach, in fact a young couple wassharing their enthusiasm for   
  
the romantic sunset... Elspeth blushed at whatshe felt from them, and then realized she'd actually   
  
heard their thoughts!  
  
She'd never gotten more than vague impressions of thoughts, emotions andsuch from total strangers before,   
  
either. Now she was confused, this wasbecoming far to real for one of "those" dreams...She left the   
  
bedroom and found herself in a luxurious beachhouse, and no one else was home... Her voice echoed   
  
through out the emptiness, until sheheard an answer:  
  
--Good evening, I see you're finally awake-- the disembodied voice replied, with a glint of humor.   
  
--You've been sick for a few days now, I'd suggest you take it easy. We found you on the beach almost   
  
a week ago...--  
  
Who am I talking to? And where am I?Elspeth asked, feeling more uncertainof where, or even who she was.   
  
--First food, then we talk.-- came the gently insistent reply, as she hearda soft humming behind her.   
  
--Don't worry, it's just a hover chair... I don't think you should try the stairs just yet, let your   
  
balance comeback; after all you were in bed for over a week.--  
  
Gingerly, not wanting to believe such a thing could exist outside of herStarTrek Internet rpg, Elspeth   
  
seated herself in the chair, and squealed when it floated over the balcony, to the first floor.It   
  
carried her to the kitchen, where several dishes of Chinese food were seton the breakfast bar...   
  
Well, for now I'm not going to argue with my host she thought to her self, as she applied herself to   
  
eating the entire meal.  
  
"Now we talk, Mr. Invisible. I went to sleep with a severe migraine lastnight, in my flat , and   
  
now, I wake up here?? What gives?"she asked, "How do I know I've not been kidnapped? and why don't   
  
you showyourself?"  
  
--There is nothing to show, because I am an AI, who maintains this houseand sees to the needs   
  
of the guests. I do not have a name, nor can I explainhow you got here, other than Mr. Carasella   
  
found you, half drowned and washedup on the beach.--it replied.--Perhaps you would like a hot bath?   
  
We can continue talking because I am linked to all parts of the house.--  
  
Elspeth was won over by the offer, feeling a serious need to soak out the stiffness. She let   
  
the hover chair convey her back to that huge bathroom,and watched at the animated 'house'   
  
computer prepared things... Her naturalcuriosity was taking over, and if it was a dream...   
  
Well, she was going to enjoy it.  
  
Almost an hour later, she toweled off and found the 'replicator' slot whereHouse had assembled   
  
the clothes she'd requested. It was definitely weird tohave a 'new' old T-shirt and bike shorts   
  
assembled before your eyes, but whenshe went to the mirror, Elspeth let out a small scream.  
  
She wasn't looking at her own face! Last time she checked, she was dark haired and hazel eyed, and   
  
about a head shorter. She stared for a long moment at the reflection... She was staring at the face   
  
of a very beautiful woman, with violet eyes and long straight hair of the same color. A woman about   
  
her own age, but clearly not Human... upswept eyebrows, pointed ears, which struck her as looking   
  
rather "Vulcan", and far taller and moremuscular than she'd ever been!   
  
"House, is this real??" she whispered in shock, "This isn't some sort of waking dream?"  
  
It answered her, as the hover chair maneuvered behind her to catch her,--No, my sensors register   
  
you as being full awake, and in good health, Elspeth.There is nothing to show that you are experiencing   
  
any hallucinations, either.--  
  
She looked at hands with 6 fingers and feet with 6 toes, and fair skin witha slightly blue cast to   
  
it... What ever she'd become, it certainly wasn't Human... She sat back, and let her thoughts drift...   
  
What have I gotten myselfinto?? The Wiccan way always did teach one to be careful what one wishedfor,   
  
because it might come true... Maybe I wished once too much??  
  
Elspeth took some joy in her surroundings, but still felt naked without the glasses she'd worn for   
  
almost 20 years, and her familiar amethyst, garnet and silver rings and earrings she was so used   
  
to wearing. She had described them to House, and it had attempted to replicate something to  
  
replace those things she'd lost...  
  
--Maybe so, legs--, came a man's voice, --buchya can't complain. Yer alive,darlin'.   
  
And yer thinkin' outloud.--  
  
Elspeth swiveled in the hoverchair, a blush staining her high cheekbones, to see a tall,   
  
well built young man peering at her through the curtains. She instinctively scanned his   
  
thoughts, and realized that this was "Mr. Chapman"...  
  
Elspeth felt the strange man's concern, it was only the 17th plate she'd managed to break in the   
  
last couple of days... She'd gradually worked herself out of the daze, and was trying very hard to   
  
adjust to this weirdness.She'd never, in her wildest dreams, imagined anything like this could be  
  
happening to her! All the cool "close encounters" crap happened to every-body else it'd seemed, up  
  
until she'd looked in the mirror and not beenlooking at herself...  
  
House was patient, and capable of cleaning up the spills and other accidental breakages. Joey had   
  
suggested she go into the pool and get some exercise,because she had literally grown 5 inches taller   
  
overnight, and had the strength to turn steel rebar into a pretzel! Elspeth was finally convinced that   
  
this was real, and had set herself to getting used to it.  
  
She spent time working on centering, and practicing a shielding her mindfrom the 'noise' of the   
  
numerous inhabitants of all the Isles. It oftengave her headaches from the strain, but in the end,   
  
it was worth it. Joey let her practice 'mindspeaking' to him, and she gradually grasped the basics  
  
of the telepathic abilities that seemed to be a standard feature in her new body. She carefully   
  
lowered what mental shields she had, hopefully in the 'direction' of that tickling sensation...  
  
She got a brief flood of disjointed images... and could practically cut the confusion with a knife...   
  
for a few minutes she found herself sharing thoughts with another person--who seemed oddly familiar.  
  
'Damn..my head.' Bren thought to himself as he struggled to open his eyes, a sweet young thing   
  
stirred next to him. She groaned as he shifted his weightin the narrow bed.  
  
'What, where am I?' he thought to himself as he sat up."Holy censored!!!!! What the bloody hell   
  
has happened to me." he cried as he caught sight of himself in a mirror.  
  
"Wot crawled under yer saddle, luv? Ye shou'na be woorin' yer baby blues 'bout nary a thing..." the   
  
sleek redhead purred as she tried to regain last night's interest with a coy glance and her artful   
  
disarray. "Ye sure weremore 'an this gal could h'ae dream'd uv, now whatsa matter, ducks?"  
  
Bren pushed her away as he went about, gathering up his clothes and started dressing, "I shouldn't   
  
have any damn baby blues....I'm an Aussie boy!!" he growled as he was pulling up his pants, "Besides,   
  
I don't even like redheads!"  
  
"Check yer billfold, Romeo..." she said with some exasperation, "Don' care who ye say ye're, or   
  
where yer from, ye owe me for services rendered... Ordo I ha'e t'tell Seamus about ye?? He don' like   
  
it, them who don' pay up!"  
  
Bren picked up the wallet, counting out the cash for her "services" and compared the photo's to the   
  
reflection...The girl nodded as she gave him a deep kiss, "Told ye, ducks..." Bren grimaced in   
  
distaste as he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. He had a strange feeling about this   
  
whole thing, and damned if he could place it...   
  
Elspeth struggled to separate herself, and centered after a bit of effort...She still had the link   
  
to the mind, Bren?? she thought outloud, wondering if this were the same person she'd once shared   
  
adventures with in cyberspace-StarTrek...  
  
'What the censored??' he thought, 'First, I wake up with a girl in my bunk, and now I'm hearing   
  
voices in the back of my head?'  
  
I must be loosing it! Forgive me for 'thinking' at you, but you seemed familiar... I am Elspeth, and   
  
I'm not entirely familiar with my telepathic abilities...yet. If you're Bren, then you must be as confused   
  
as I am right about now. she mindspoke, in a slightly English accent.  
  
'Censored, babe. Is that you?' Bren tried to "direct" his thoughts to the warm, female presence,   
  
'Where the hell are you? For that matter wherethe hell am I?'  
  
She didn't notice Joey looking at her, with concern clouding her face.Nor did she notice the softly   
  
glowing amethyst "butterfly" that centered over her face and eyes...  
  
Ummmm.... Where are you, Bren?? she replied, I'm just outsideMalden, England...Let me see if   
  
I can trace you, dearheart.  
  
Elspeth shook her head to clear it, though she still felt Bren's slight presence there, because of the   
  
mindlink. She started as Joey waved his platesized hand before her eyes...  
  
"Don't scare me like that, Legs!" he chided her, "You musta been doin' that funny mindstuff again...   
  
You really gotta learn to keep from spacin' out like that!"  
  
She glared at her host, "Perhaps... But until then I will space out when and where I choose. And youd   
  
needn't worry, I'll manage just fine by myselffor a couple of days. House will undoubtedly keep you   
  
apprised of my state."  
  
"Damn, I hate it when ya do that!!" he exclaimed, referring to her telepathic "prediction" of his  
  
very words. He shrugged, as he recovered his aplumb, "But,suit yerself, Legs. I gotta go down to London,   
  
Miz Cheney's workin' on that film, and I'm s'posed to be takin' part in it.--  
  
"Very well, House should be able to keep me out of trouble, as it were.I'm sure I can 'path you if I   
  
need help." she stated matter-of-factly,as she watched Mr. Chapman fold up into his Bentley convertible.   
  
She returned to the house, wondering if she should try something.  
  
"House, you're psibernetic... Link up with me and help me find Bren!!"she commanded, as an unfamiliar   
  
presence touched her mind. It wasn't "warm"the way living things were, and it made her scalp crawl. Elspeth   
  
sighed, a whole weekend to herself!! Of course, Bren would be here, but that didn't bother her. She needed   
  
someone to talk to, and her good frientd seemed to be it. She could barely wait to see him, and could only   
  
hope that he wasn't as drastically changed as she.  
  
She was surprised at how well her "new" voice could sing, as she showered,and practically danced to the   
  
kitchen... There were a lot of things that were different... She was a lot taller, quicker, and there   
  
weren't any of the old aches she'd gotten used to. Well, no aches were good, too.   
  
But she didn't ever think she'd get used to seeing that beautiful face in the mirror. Going from a   
  
vague memory of Turkish/French to 6'4", pale, lavender haired, and inhumanly beautiful was more than   
  
Elspeth could have ever asked the Goddess for. It was almost enough to make her  
  
forget the pain of her previous life...  
  
She carried a tray of biscuits, jam and tea toward a computer module in thecorner of the 'den'. She   
  
was of a mind to wander the 'Web, or contact a fewpeople she knew on the 'Net. For a while, she was   
  
just content to mouse-wander through some of the familiar StarTrek homepages she knew by heart. Her   
  
stomach was content, and her tea should be cool enough to drink... So she called up the AOL software,   
  
and began trying to type several messages. Itwasn't going too well, when she realized what was wrong...   
  
She'd learned to type with 10 fingers, not 12!   
  
Damned clumsy fingers, she cursed to herself, as she asked House to shutdown the PC... "House,   
  
could you work on some way that I can learn to type with an extra finger on each hand?? And while   
  
your at it, I could stand to work off some steam... point me to the weightroom??--  
  
The disembodied voice chuckled, --Gladly, Elspeth. Would you care for Metallicaor Ethnic Middle Eastern   
  
with that?? Just follow the lights...--She stalked down the hall, as House tried to cheer her up. The   
  
cup of tea was perfectly tepid now, and the thick honeysweet stuff slid down her throat. She savored it's   
  
familiar flavour, as her eyes widened. This place was full of higher tech stuff than even she could imagine.  
  
Elspeth set the benchpress for about 38 kg. She knew she could lift that...She was surprised when she   
  
could lift it with one hand, and barely feel it.She boosted it to 60 kg... 100 kg... and on through about   
  
200 kg. She still hadn't worked up a sweat.   
  
"House, Joey mentioned having a special weightset... Think I could try it? I don't really think   
  
he'd care..." she asked, offhand.  
  
--Certainly, it's in the next room. Floor had to be specially reinforced to take the stress of a person   
  
with superhuman strength to use for regular workouts.-- it replied, seemingly amused. --Really intending   
  
to pump iron today, aren't you??--  
  
"Oh go surge," she retorted, with a grin, as she set the digital control for 250 kgs... And again,   
  
she worked through the numbers, adding an automatic 15 kgs each time she lifted with ease... this went   
  
on for a while, until she felt she was getting good resistance. "House, where we at??", she  
  
asked as she felt her muscles begining to protest her exertions.  
  
--I have calculated your optimum workout countermass as being roughly 425kgs. I have set the room   
  
to set to your requirements when you palm the scanner. Perhaps you would like to test your agility,   
  
so that I may suggest additions to your routine??--  
  
She stood there, in the centre of Joey's weight room, "What?? Are you sure you haven't burned out   
  
your capacitors?? I've never been able to lift that much!"  
  
--I said, that you are perfectly capable of lifting well over 400 kgs. Your body is not Human, so   
  
that shouldn't surprise you so greatly. I'm not sure what you are, but you are obviously physically   
  
superior to what you were. From what you've told me, it should be a pleasant change.-- House   
  
reminded her. --I should think you would wish to push you physical conditioning to the peak possible   
  
for someone of your apparent potential...--   
  
"I'm not saying I mind, you overheated circuit! It's just weird... Things like this don't happen   
  
where I came from!" she replied, "Well, if I'm going to be surprised, I might as well get it all done   
  
in a day... Lead me through your maze."  
  
For the next few hours, House presented her with test after test: holographicobstacle courses,   
  
endurance tests, and just about everything else she couldhave imagined... And when it was over, she   
  
just sat in the hottub, as House thoroughly analyzed her performance...  
  
Somewhere along the line, Elspeth watched herself doing things she thoughtonly stunt people could   
  
get away with... And somehow, it didn't quite surprise her as much when she felt ready to go again   
  
in an impossibly short time.... She was everything she hadn't been before this happened.  
  
House alerted her sometime later that there was a hovercycle approaching,and she scrambled back into   
  
the sonic shower to make herself decent...   
  
Bren?? she 'pathed, I'll deactivate the security system. Come on up to the house...   
  
I ought to warn you... I'm not exactly "human". she added as she camedown the stairs, and   
  
opened the door.  
  
"I'm not worried about that, babe. Somebody thought it'd be fun to make me a censored   
  
Chippendale's boy, fer Lady's Sake!" he thought back at her.  
  
The person who opened the door looked vaguely Vulcanoid, but elven, mighthave been a better word to   
  
describe the young woman. She had deep lavenderhair in a thick braid, and violet eyes to match. She   
  
was dressed in a stylish black unitard, with a comfortably oversize sweatshirt over it; flattering to   
  
her lean, well muscled body. She looked down at the blonde guy, and her lovely face quirked into a   
  
bemused expression...  
  
Well, what do you think? she mindspoke, as though it were second nature.Not exactly who I used to   
  
be--whoever that was--but mind you, I'm not going to complain... I think I might be able to get used to it.  
  
Bren looked at her, shaking his head, "Well, at least you look like you,now... I just look like some   
  
stupid blonde puta-boy. And I talk funny to boot!"  
  
She just chuckled, her amethyst eyes sparkling with mischief, as she led her friend into the House. 


	2. A Brave New WorldChapter Two

A Brave New World  
  
Disclaimer: All characters recognisably Marvels belong to them, the story to me.  
  
Elspeth gently touched Bren's mind again, soothing his turmoil as only  
  
a world class telepath could; but really wondering if she knew what  
  
she was doing. She couldn't remember just who had shown her, but it  
  
seemed to be working, his breathing steadied and he relaxed against  
  
her shoulder. At least she was no longer in danger of becoming "lost"  
  
in his mind. What happened then, Sunny? You were telling me about  
  
the girls....  
  
Well, needless to say, they all took off. Girls too... No thank you--not  
  
even an acknowledgement that I was alive. Blast it, Elle, in many ways it's  
  
just like before, only this time, I'm not nursing 'em through broken hearts,  
  
I'm saving lives. censored it, I didn't ask to be "different" back there  
  
or here, either. I used be a 20 year old university student, who saw the world  
  
though the eyes of a person at least twice my age... I had this gift of  
  
insight, so keen that it scared me the way I could read a person from the  
  
way they walked to the moment they opened their mouth, it was like I could  
  
guess pretty much what they were going to talk about. Women took refuge  
  
with me while I helped them get over stuff, kinda restoring their faith  
  
in the male species, I had a will like the Rock of Gibraltar. I could  
  
have done something sorta like that "Jedi mind trick" with some thought,  
  
I mean, I could've had any of those girls, but I never thought using my  
  
"gift" for personal use was right... he lamented, burying his haggard face  
  
in his hands, Hell no, I was always trying to be the "good guy", who never  
  
took advantage... The one who always tried to do the "right thing", regardless  
  
of the effect it would have on me. Now look at me! Here I go again, with a  
  
different "gift". I could use it to become rich and powerful beyond my  
  
wildest dreams, you something inside own't let me do something like that...  
  
It just woulnd't be Right.... He slouched down into the chair, tears  
  
quietly sliding down his pale cheeks. He felt pretty damned hopeless, and  
  
he wasn't sure if he could cope with this kind of "gift".  
  
It's called 'concience', Bren... Get this, maybe we're different for a  
  
reason we can't understand? And who was it used to say, "who consoles the  
  
counselor?" A fellow 'counselor', dearheart. The Goddess moves in mysterious  
  
ways... Just maybe we are different enough, powerful enough to make a  
  
difference here, where others might have failed! You and I seem to be  
  
kindred spirits, who happen to have been granted the means to DO something,  
  
become part of something greater than we were. I have faith that She put  
  
me here for a reason, I may never know why, but I'm going to keep being  
  
who I am; even if I can't exactly remember who eithr of 'us' was. I've got  
  
the memories of two people stuck in my head, I can't tell which one of 'us'  
  
if either of us was real, but I think 'we'd' both do the same thing...  
  
My body may be alien, but my psyche will alwasy be humane. Maybe, now that  
  
I'm a real telepath, I can heal some of those minds out there, and change  
  
those of the ones who do wrong.. Elle contintued, trying to infect Bren  
  
with a little of her incurable optimism, I dunno, it's like, now we've got  
  
the powers to do things we couldn't beofre; and some part of us--our  
  
concience--  
  
compels us to do something, because we are capable of things that others  
  
aren't. It's called concience, and we'd never forgive ourselves if we didn't  
  
try...  
  
Reddened skyblue eyes tentatively rose to meet hers again; a faint, cynical  
  
smile crossing his lips. She smoothed Bren's dishwater blond bangs out of his  
  
eyes and smiled at him, Make you a deal, Bren: We may not have known each  
  
other that well "back when", but starting right now... we're the only friend  
  
the other's got at the moment. We both know we're going to do alot of other  
  
people, it's just who we are. But we watch out for each other, and be there  
  
when the other doesn't want to talk about it whatevers, we talk about it any  
  
way, and keep eachother from giving too much of ourselves. We watch each  
  
other's backs, and help each other stay sane, no matter what happens, we  
  
stick this out, together. Good and bad...  
  
Bren looke up at the regal young woman sitting next to him, as a smile crept  
  
across his face, Okay. Deal. he replied. For a moment he did't care if Elle  
  
wasn't quite the person he remembered, she was simply the most beautiful  
  
person alive... he was about to kiss her, when something cleared it's  
  
throat"....  
  
She'd been in the kitchen, talking to Bren about some of the strange things  
  
she could actually do with her mental talents, and comparing notes on just how he  
  
got thru. House's rather frantic chatter disrupted the telepathic conversation, --Hate  
  
to be a bother, by the bye; I'm picking up a metahuman intruder in flight. He's on  
  
an intersept course for our location. I'm afraid I can't do much to deter it, since Joey  
  
neglected to repair the defense grid before he left for the weekend.--  
  
"Never mind, House! I think Sunshine and I can handle this..." she winked at  
  
Bren'soutraged expression, as she shrugged out of her sweatshirt; revealing her rather  
  
impressive build. She posed for a moment, and laughed, "Time to see if the  
  
old bod's up to specs..."  
  
He grimaced at her reference to his recently aquired blonde hair and blue  
  
eyes... But she was right, this was also his chance to see just what he was capable  
  
of, since House had proved he wasn't exactly human, either. Maybe his inexplicable  
  
kinetic bolt thingies would prove useful, afterall?  
  
They stood on the deck, listeing to House's telemetry; while Elspeth scanned  
  
the area for the unfamiliar thought patterns. His sharpened senses heard the faint  
  
hum of the focusing mechanism in her psiber-eyes, as they scanned the beach head.  
  
Funny, that she didn't even think her visual acuity any odder than her drasticly increased  
  
telepathic powers. He knew he was going to take a hell of alot longer accepting  
  
everything; and somehow this "waiting for something to happen" schtick was  
  
overly familiar, and extremely discomfiting.  
  
Something 'snapped' inside her head, as she got a mindlock on the 'bogie',  
  
and her eyes focused in, giving her a it's distance and velocity on the HUD. Something  
  
instinctual took over, ash she pushed off the deck, rusing headlong to meet  
  
their uninvited guest...  
  
The "gears" of that old Motley Crue sone began to grind through her head, as she  
  
poured on the speed, feeling the adrenaline singing fire in her veins...  
  
When I get get high, I get high on speed...  
  
Top fuel funny car's a drug for me...  
  
My heart, my heart....Kickstart my heart....  
  
Skydive naked from an aeroplane...  
  
Gonna live my life in outer space...  
  
My heart... my heart...Kickstart my heart... Hope it never stops...  
  
The wind streaked past her, and somewhere in her subconcious, she was really  
  
surprised that her skin wasn't being torn off by the friction!! But screw that, the  
  
high Gee turn caused her to be momentarily lightheaded, and the sudden rush of blood and a  
  
drenaline brought everything back into prisstine focus. It trickeled down  
  
the link into Bren's mind, along with a rush that was better than sex, or even her  
  
memories of playing live in a heavy metal band in front of hundreds of screaming  
  
fans, or any chemical high he might imagine...  
  
Bren laughed as he imagined the sight... A feeling of sheepishness flowed  
  
down the mindlink, Oh (censored)!!  
  
He was knocked off his feet, as he felt the aftershock'svirbration..."That's sure some kick   
  
you've got there, my lady Elspeth!" he grinned, as he was blown  
  
off the deck.Her boom sent the intruder reeling, trying to recover his equalibrium, and  
  
it shattered some of House's windows...Bren cursed under his breath, "Damn, babe, you  
  
always knewhow to make an enterence, but that's one hell of an exit..."  
  
Concern flooded his thoughts as he realised the 'link wasn't there anymore,  
  
Elle?? Talk to me damn it, Elspeth!, he mind-muttered as he searched the sky for  
  
her...  
  
Elspeth pulled up, slowing and turning...she'd broken the man'sconcentration, and now  
  
she reached into his mind, and 'shouted' at the top of her telepathic lungs!  
  
The stranger's mind was afire...she hadn't realised just how powerful her  
  
'shout' was, but whoever he was, he was going to leave a mighty nice crater in the pure white sand!   
  
She figured if this bloke could shrug off the physical effects of a sonic  
  
shockwave, then he could jolly well use the beach for brakes...  
  
Bren, he's going to crash into the beach...If he get up, blast him; 'cause  
  
he seems pretty tough. We can ask questions later... she 'pathed, passing along the  
  
rush of combat.  
  
Understood... he replied, feeling relief flood through him, just don't  
  
kick me down again...  
  
No prob, Sunny. I'm going to follow him in, steer him away from House... Meet  
  
me down there! she replied before she dropped the link.  
  
Her instinctive flight control paid off, as he plowed into the sand, and  
  
skidded almost half a mile before he was stopped by a rather large dune. Elle slowed to a  
  
reasonable speed, as she watched Bren striding down the beach toward their uninvied  
  
guest... The man, however, shook his head as he looked around. He seemed angry as his  
  
eyes locked onto Elspeth, and he started moving toward her...  
  
Brian Braddock didn't have the faintest idea why his twin sister had jsut  
  
attacked him, nor did he recognise the blond man who was heading down the beach,  
  
toward him. And why was his violet haired sister flying?? He tried to cut the fog and  
  
fire from his mind, remembering the last time she'd cut loose on him...  
  
Concentrate, Bren... he thought to himself, as he unleashed a powerful  
  
blast into the sand, creating a sizable rift between Elle and the stranger. Damn, that's  
  
like packing a photon grenade in your back pocket..., he mused as he stared at his  
  
glowing fists and the glass-fused rift...  
  
Brian looked up at her, confusion marring his English goodlooks, "Elisabeth,  
  
what has happened to you?? You're my sister... aren't you?"  
  
Bren moved in closer, "Look dude, you got one chance. Chill out, and  
  
we'll all get outta this in one piece..."  
  
Brian snapped around, "I asked you a question, chum, and I'd advise you  
  
to answer it!" And with that, Brittanic thudded his fists into the  
  
ground, creating a tremor in the sand that knocked Bren feet over  
  
"tailfeathers", rolling him downt he dune...  
  
"censored!!" Bren grumbled as he unleashed another blast, this one  
  
considerably less powerful; but still slamming into the intruder's chest  
  
hard enough to knock him back a few feet.  
  
Elspeth gained altitude, then turned and dove straight toward the large  
  
man. She let gravity do most of the work, counting on her apparent  
  
invulnerability to protect her, and put a thunderous punch into him--  
  
sending him down to the waterline. When she saw that he was still  
  
itching for a rumble, she set down on the beach, and pulled off the  
  
remains of her sweatshirt she'd been wearing over her workout gear.  
  
Her violet eyes, and the glowing "butterfly mask" began to spread over  
  
her pale features, giving her a slightly sinister, otherworldly  
  
expression.  
  
Brian's eyes widened, as he realised the extent of the changes to his  
  
sister...she was a couple of inches taller, and as muscular as those  
  
lovely Yankee ladies on the American Gladiatiors show that Meghan loved  
  
to watch. But most of all, her violet eyes held no signs of recognising  
  
him, none what-so-ever, and she carried herself far differently, like  
  
she was someone else entirely...  
  
Elspeth cracked 12 fingers, and moved in on the stranger...finding her  
  
link with Bren was broken; she decieded to try out House's assessment  
  
of her 'new' body, Who are you, and why do you intrude upon private  
  
property?? she pathed at him.  
  
Elisabeth, don't you remember?? I'm your brother... he thought thru  
  
the link he seemed to share with this woman, What's happened to you??  
  
I've never seen you so....so angry!  
  
The stranger moved toward her, as though he were going to try to  
  
restrain her... Elspeth easily evaded, sensing his intent in mind.  
  
First off, my name is Elspeth! {punch} Second, my kid brother, Misha  
  
is dead... {kick} Third, my twin was Capt. Britain, and he's dead too...  
  
And Bren is the only friend I've got here!  
  
Her last punch knocked him off his feet, but then the stranger tripped  
  
her, pinning her to the sand... I don't want to hurt you, Betsy...  
  
Please, stop fighting me... he plead with her, though it was like  
  
trying to restrian a wildcat...  
  
Elspeth was horridly claustraphobic, and being pinned down caused her  
  
mind to flash back to how Catherine's mother had held her down, beaten  
  
and 'mind-raped' her with sheer hatred... Elle tried to focus past the  
  
fear, and rage. She felt something 'sliding' inside her, as it took a  
  
form both physical and mental...  
  
MY NAME IS ELSPETH!! she cried out, NO one is going to hurt  
  
me, ever again... I. Am. Who. I. Choose. To. Be. Not--what anyone  
  
else wants me to be! And in a burst of strenght, she broke the pin,  
  
threw the stranger off herself, and with another punch--knocked him  
  
down the beach. She was really angry, now; and all the carefully  
  
crafted walls around both sets of memories came crashing down in the  
  
face of her rage...  
  
The two parts of her slipped and flowed, until she was of one mind that  
  
happened to have lived two different, yet hauntingly similar lives...  
  
Elspeth flew down the beach, but the stranger was ready for her, and  
  
body blocked her. But she took the blow, and kept coming...so they  
  
traded blow for blow as her temper flared, and another wall crumbled.  
  
Something part of her remembered...being beaten down by someone called  
  
the Slaymaster, and blinded... Having her mind blasted open against her  
  
will by a mother who never wanted her...the raw pain and crushing weight  
  
of all those minds... their fears, their loves, their desires...  
  
what about her needs?? HER fears???  
  
Who was this person who dared shred her reality to its very foundations?  
  
With an herculean effort, she seperated her from all it the Isles and  
  
over half of Northern Europe... Her thoughts focused, as the masklike  
  
glow faded from around here eyes--a crackling of light around her hands  
  
caught the stranger's attention. He was shocked, as the crackling became  
  
a 'blade' of scintilating amethyst energies...  
  
I am not your sister. I. Am. Elspeth. she declared, I am who and  
  
what I have ever wished to be. Nobody. Not you. Not anyone or anything  
  
else will ever take this away from me. I do not care who you are. You  
  
hurt me! By the Bright Lady--No one will ever hurt me again...  
  
Her thoughts rang in the heads of every psychic sensative on the planet,  
  
leaving them wondering at the primal declaration of independence in the  
  
strange telepath's mindvoince...  
  
Britainic's mind was truly electrified as she impaled him upon it, as  
  
the blade caused every neuron in his brain to fire simulatneously. For  
  
a single instant, the remainder of Elisabeth screamed inside Psylocke...  
  
who instinctively knew that this feeling of a dull, hacking blade in  
  
at the base of her skull; was what it felt like to have her psychic  
  
knife used upon one...and so, Psylocke reveled in the pain, and the  
  
superiority over her victims...  
  
And for that single isntant, Brian felt Elspeth's pain, and understood  
  
her, as his world turned to black.  
  
She watched the stranger fall, the rage draining away as quickly as it  
  
had flooded through her. The glowing 'blade' was still in her hand, as  
  
she looked around for Bren...  
  
Damn! Bren thought, shaking his head, as he mentally searched for  
  
Elle's presence. His head still rang with the power of her projected  
  
emotions and thoughts. The scene replayed through his mind, as he slowly  
  
made his way abck to his feet. Raising his fist, he attempted to send up  
  
a flare of energy, so she could find him--but nothing happened, though  
  
not for his lack of trying.  
  
Mental Note...never make her mad! he reminded himself, as he had  
  
watched the massive intruder slump over. He struggled, eventually  
  
finding the energy to return to his feet, but his legs were quite shaky  
  
but it was sheer determination that carried him over to Elle's side.  
  
He saw her, still standing over her opponant, looking a bit dazed.  
  
"You didn't...um, you know...kill him, did you?" Bren asked, as he  
  
approched her, falling to his knees from the exertion.  
  
She silently shook her head, I still feel his thought patterns, but I  
  
think he'll be making a serious reality check whenever he finally comes  
  
to. I don't know what made me snap like that, Bren... I'm usually so in  
  
control...  
  
"Guess I was't much help..." he quipped, attempting to lighten the mood  
  
as the tried to stand again.  
  
"Huh??" she replied, shaking off her daze, and returning to reality.  
  
"Censored", he growled, punching the sand, "Elle, I'm sorry. I shoulda  
  
been able to help you, and you coulda been seriously fubared..."  
  
Elspeth reached Bren, and sank to her knees beside him, It's okay,  
  
Sunny. I always was tougher than I looked. Don't you dare beat  
  
yourself up over this...you've never really used whatever powers you  
  
inheirited with this 'new' you before. We'll figure it out, dearheart.  
  
I always manage, somehow...  
  
She reached out, and wrapped her friend in an embrace; just holding the  
  
only person she could really trust here... Somehow, they'd survive, and  
  
cope with the wierdness happening all around them.  
  
They had to. Life hadn't given them a choice. 


	3. A Brave New WorldChapter Three

A Brave New World  
  
Disclaimer: All characters recognisably Marvels belong to them, the story to me.  
  
Brian's head felt like it was surging with electricity, like he'd been  
  
jolted with several million volts of it, to be exact! He vaguely  
  
remembered something or another about feeling severe distress thru the  
  
bond he shared with his telepathic twin sister. And then finding her,  
  
only for her to outright attack him with powers she never had before.  
  
He opened his eyes, and heard soft voices in the next room...two that  
  
sounded oddly familiar, and those of a young man, and a teenage girl.  
  
He rose to his feet and staggered toward the door. What ever that blade  
  
was, it sure had some nasty side-effects; the feeling he had the mother  
  
of all hangovers, or a serious migraine came to mind...  
  
When he looked into the sitting room, Brian did a doubletake. Meghan,  
  
his ex-girlfriend, and the blonde man who fired the kinetic blasts. He  
  
stopped and stared at "Betts"--it was as though he were seeing the  
  
Otherworlder Warrior Cast side of her, seperated from the gentile and  
  
sophisticated aristocrat he had once known. But, then she'd "died" in  
  
Dallas some months ago, sacrificing herself with the X-Forces to seal  
  
away the creature known only as the Advesary...  
  
Then she'd shown up with a fellow teammate, and a Chinese girl called  
  
Jubilee. She'd been so very different, a tantalizingly erotic--almost  
  
sadistic--Oriental woman, with a serious chip on her shoulder. A woman  
  
with whom he'd found he shared no psychic rapport like he shared with  
  
this Elspeth. He felt helpless in the face of this Otherworlder's  
  
confidence and knowledge of herself.  
  
The blonde man, he beleately recogised as one of the Otherworlders  
  
Roma had sent to join the X-Forces... Lochlan? No, it had to be Feran..  
  
the shorttemptered. But she'd called him Bren, which further served to  
  
escalate his confusion, or was it just another aftereffect of being  
  
swatted with that 'blade'? He ran a nervous finger through his blonde  
  
hair, and tentativly reached for the door frame as his world began to  
  
spin yet again...  
  
"Betts?? What happened?", he asked, "Wait a bloody minute, you're not  
  
my sister, even though you look like her...Would somebody please tell  
  
me what's going on around here??"  
  
Elspeth raised her eyebrows and shrugged, "We've been discussing that  
  
Mister Braddock. I honestly have no idea why, and neither Meghan nor  
  
Bren, nor House have any suggestions, either. I woke up from one of those  
  
bloody migraines of mine, in this house, and in this body, almost two  
  
weeks ago. Not that I mind being here, telepathic or whatever sort of  
  
alien I am. Know how would be nice, but why would be even better.  
  
Any suggestions, since I seeme to be related to you? And Meghan feels  
  
that I'm probably "magical" like she is..."  
  
Brian shook his head, trying to clear the rest of the fog from his mind,  
  
"What?? You're the one who attacked me? And Meggy, what're you doing  
  
here? I thought you were trying to find your parents..."  
  
Meghan smiled and shrugged, "I'm empathic, Brian. I can feel your  
  
emotions as easily as Elle can. I felt what happened between the two of  
  
you, and after Bett's death in Dallas? I'd thought to come up and see  
  
what was happening..."  
  
He moved to Meghan and hugged her tight, "You're alright? You look  
  
rather tired..."  
  
The voluptous blonde kissed him on the cheek, I flew all day to get  
  
here, 'cause I was up in the Lowlands. I'll be alright--Elle and Bren  
  
made me stop worrying long enough to eat something. Don't worry..."  
  
Elle looked at Meghan and Bren, I don't know what happened in the past,  
  
but if this clod wants to fly back to where-ever, and be a Happy, Shiny  
  
SuperDude, that's fine with me! The last thing I need is more problems  
  
especially that pompous blonde bozo! Reminds me of some of the posturing  
  
pro-wrestlers I've seen on Saturday AM tele! Goddess, spare me....  
  
She shook her darl lavender hair out of her face, Bren, why don't we  
  
let them have their little reunion in private? I'm starving, and House  
  
can whip up a mean pizza in no time... What say we ajourn to the kitchen  
  
and have a lemonade?  
  
Bren squeezed her hand, and slipped an arm around her shoulders, "You  
  
two need to talk. We're going to set about making dinner, so we'll  
  
holler when pizza's ready..."  
  
Brian nodded, wondering just how much Elspeth had been able to read his  
  
mood, "Thank you..."  
  
He watched in wonder as Meghan's body flowed, changing shape from his  
  
dream girl, to soemthing of a family resemblence to Elle: long, lean  
  
and superbly muscled, with fine, strong features and the same insufferbly  
  
proud carriage.  
  
After the two Otherworlders vanished to the kitchen, Meghan pulled  
  
Brian down onto the sofa with her, "Look, Bri; if what she said is  
  
true, about just waking up here, then maybe that Oriental "Psylocke"  
  
figures in here somewhere? I think we need to work with her and this  
  
Bren of hers to see if we can't find "Psylocke"..."  
  
Britannic looked at Meghan, with a dumbstruck expression, "What do you  
  
mean, that Oriental bimbo claiming to be Betts might be anywhere on  
  
Earth? And how could she be Otherworlder?? Roma told me that our  
  
father, Baron/Sir James Braddock was Otherworlder, adn that as his  
  
kids, we're half Otherworlder, half human..."  
  
Meghan, for all that she wasn't sophisticated and worldly, sometimes  
  
could see things that the jaded couldn't. Her innocence mad her special  
  
in that way. She seemed to retreat into herself for a bit, and when she  
  
emerged, her face was bright with inspiration... "Well, Elspeth is an  
  
"Otherworlder". Like Roma. Like me... What if things seperated Betts'  
  
two halves and made them each a whole person? Some mind would have to  
  
take up the half that didn't have a mind in it to make it live...And  
  
Betts alwasy wished that she could be either an ordinary human telepath  
  
or a "real" Warrior Caste Otherworlder. She really hated being--oh,  
  
how did she put it? "Diluted." "  
  
Brian was amazed at how simple it seemed when the empathic metamorph  
  
explained things that would boggle even the most expert parapsychologist.  
  
He scratched his head, "But how would Elspth wind up here?"  
  
"Because she wanted very badly to be somewhere other than where she was.  
  
I don't know why--because she was a psychic where she was? And her mind  
  
would withstand being a true telepath, and she'd had so many bad things  
  
happen to her, and maybe the Lady Above decided that she deserved a  
  
chance to make a new life, maybe?" Meghan replied, as if she were  
  
explaining why the sky was blue to a silly child.  
  
Brian shook his head, "I don't get it Meggy. I remember when Lady Jean  
  
Grey was mindraped by Psylocke, that they said there was something "not  
  
right" about the way she'd been chasing Scott Summers... ou went out  
  
there, to help Jean, and I remember soemting about Scott and Psylocke  
  
disappearing right after episode, right?"  
  
Meghan nodded slowly, "I'd almost forgotten about that, Bri. It seems  
  
that Betts appeared in their Holodeck right after that, and gave Psylocke  
  
a taste of her own medicine. But after the confusion of confronting  
  
Psylocke, and then dealing with Betts' appearance, Jean's trauma and  
  
all that stuff...well, Psylocke and Scott just disappeared. Betts was  
  
Betts, just angrier and she'd said something about Psylocke being an  
  
imposter. I remember, I was there to get Prof. X to help me with my  
  
empathic abilities; and when I was around Psylocke--they said I 'changed'  
  
--you know, playing mindgames with the guys, and trying to seduce Gambit  
  
and Archangel..." she related with a blush staining her fair cheeks.  
  
"Anyway, I was myself around Betts, like I always was. And when Dr.McCoy  
  
came over to check on Jean's condition, he ran a series of tests on  
  
Betts. She had the Legacy Virus that everybody been working so hard on.  
  
But it was being really wierd on Betts, 'cause she wasn't a mutant. Dr  
  
Moira said it was making her more alien than human..."  
  
Brian's eyes widened as he realised jus what might have actually happened  
  
to his twin sister, after all, "So what else... I wans't exactly in  
  
the state of mind to deal with it all at the time, with my trip thru  
  
time and all..."  
  
Meghan rolled her eyes as she looked at him, 'Well, Betts stayed at the  
  
Xavier Institute in New York for several weeks, before she got so sick  
  
that her psychic abilities made her a stronger telepath than Prof X  
  
himself... She helped the Prof and me with Jean, and Jean said it was  
  
like the bad part of Betts was inside Psylocke, and the good part of  
  
the woman Psylocke used to be was inside Betts... I heard that Betts  
  
was in London before she apparently 'died' in Maldan. Every psychic  
  
sensative the X-Forces knows Felt her die in a flash of telepathic  
  
agony..."  
  
Brian nodded, as he sipped his tea. He even remembered that part, it was  
  
part of what had brought him out of his coma. But, he'd had flashes from  
  
his own newly awakened psychic powers--of his sister being somewhere  
  
really different. And Roma had been with her, much in the way Roma'd  
  
helped him in the past. Somehow, he could swear, that Roma was now his  
  
twin's mother... 


	4. A Brave New WorldChapter Four

A Brave New World  
  
Disclaimer: All characters recognisably Marvels belong to them, the story to me.  
  
"Meg, what do you sense from Elspeth? Is she different from Betts, who was at the Institute   
  
New York?" he inquired, hoping her empathy could shed some light on the mystery.  
  
"Well, the part of Betts that was there, is still there. But there's somebody else there,   
  
who's stronger than Betts ever was. This lady's not able to remember where she's from, or   
  
even what her name was, but she's damn sure of who she is, as a person. She remembers   
  
people and places she may have been, btu she also remembers growing up in Maldan, England   
  
with you and Jamie. I get the vague image of a woman, a little older than Betts, who was   
  
Middle Eastern and sort of empathic, like me. But not able to change her shape..." Meghan   
  
said thoughtfully, "It's like she and Betts merged so completely that I can't tell where   
  
one begins and the other ends; and Elspeth has two sets of memories. She is Betts, and she's   
  
more...Don't try to confuse her, Bri, you'll only hurt her. Just be patient with her, and be   
  
a brother to her... who ever she is now is what's important. Even if her human blood is gone,   
  
she is still your "half-twin", and I think she's going to need you, Bren and me an aweful lot..."  
  
Brian nodded and joined Meghan as they went to the kitchen. He reached out through the  
  
psychic bond, carefully and gently, Bett..umm...Elspeth... I'm sorry, about this afternoon.   
  
I've always been--well, part of you might remember--a bit irrational about things happening   
  
to you...  
  
Elle was sitting on a barsool, a mug of steaming Constant Comment thickly laced with honey   
  
and a touch of lemon in front of her. She raised an eyebrow, and smiled wryly at her "twin's"  
  
attempted appology. Bren was serving up Coleslaw and pizza... Betts had always hated Coleslaw,   
  
and had never been fond of pinapples, ham, green peppers and black olives as toppings on her   
  
pie, Brian thought to himself.  
  
Well, you certainly have a way of showing you care, Mr. Braddock she replied, her  
  
mindvoice dripping with friendly sarcasm. And she didn't push him away when he moved  
  
to stand beside her, and enfold her in a solid, warm hug. And may I make a suggestion??  
  
Bren and Meghan looked at each other, curiousity winning out over confusion, "What would you   
  
suggest Elspeth?" Meghan looked at her new/old friend, shifting as she percieved just what   
  
Elle was going to suggest to her "twin"...  
  
She pushed Brian onto to the stool next to her, Well, I think you'd do better to loose the   
  
opey blonde look. You might start by letting your hair grow out, and I'd definately reccommend   
  
changing the colour! Maybe a nice shade of blue to match your eyes, brother dear. You look like   
  
an overgrown schoolboy with that haircut...The geek playing at metahero...  
  
Meghan's shift of Brian-with-long-blue-hair brought tears to Bren's eyes, he was laughing so   
  
hard. She had Brian's pompous posture down perfect, and a slightly exagerated version was   
  
absolutely hysterical. Elle choked on her tea, as she saw it. Even Brian laughed, "Is that   
  
how you lassies see me?? No wonder Betts was ashamed to be seen with me in public..."  
  
You got me... "Aaaghh!", Elle groaned, as the pain ripped through her mind. Brian, Bren a  
  
nd Meghan felt it to a lesser degree; but the bond each of them had to her, only amplfied it   
  
to Elspeth. She clutched her head and launched herself through the kitchen skylight, fleeing the pain...  
  
She unconciously headed east, reaching an altitude of over 30.000 feet, and the subjet hurled   
  
her along at speeds in excess of Mach 2... She just kept goint, and eventually, when the pain   
  
was nolonger so great, she slowed, wondering just where she was, and how long she'd been flying...  
  
She cautiously thinned her telepathic defenses, and percieved the minds of Turks somewhere   
  
in the vecinity? Elle followed that 'beacon', and eventually discovered the Straits of Bosphorus   
  
below her; realising that she'd been on wing for some time... She drifted along, enjoying sights   
  
she'd not seen since she was a child, "back when"...  
  
Topkapi Palace, the Grand Seraglio, the Harem... All the places she'd dreamed of seeing, of calling   
  
her own. But she couldn't remember when or where those dreams had come to a proper young English   
  
aristocrat, or just how she'd come to identify with these people and places--Elle couldn't comprehend   
  
why they were there... Just like she remembered being both a fashion designer and a fashion model,   
  
having been a member of the X-Forces, and having read about Betts Braddock's life as an adventurer in   
  
a series of comic books...  
  
Nothing made sense any more. She took in the exotic beauty of Topkapi for what seemed like hours.   
  
Her cybernetic eyes adjusting to the low light, allowing her to fully appreciate it's alluring beauty.   
  
She saw the heat traces of a cat, and mindcalled it to her... Some part of her was an aluriophile, now?   
  
She wondered at it for a moment, before she realised she could hear the little fellow's thoughts, and   
  
he was inisisting upon her attention...  
  
Several hours later, she woke up to the little cat headbutting her, warning her that Topkapi would   
  
be opening for the tourists in a little while... She absently scooped him up, as she vacated the   
  
premesis. Elle had let her thoughts wander, last night as she fled the sudden pain, adn she had   
  
no more anwers than before. She did have more questions than she knew what to do with, however...  
  
She tucked the little grey cat into the jacket she'd aquired, and headed back to England at  
  
a considerably more sedate pace. She thought about her numerous questions, and the cat,  
  
whom she decided to call Launcelot, on a whim--purred, warming her skin, and soothing her mind.   
  
And for some inexplicable reason, when she finally set her feet down, it was on the Salisbury   
  
Plain.... Stonehenge.  
  
Elsewhere:  
  
Brian cringed as the wave of pain tore through them. He'd felt things from Betts before, but the   
  
raw power of the Otherworlder, and her inability to properly block such gave Meghan and Bren   
  
little respite, until she was out of range...  
  
He carefully lifted the unconcious Meghan, and made his way out of the kitchen--not quite   
  
trusting his perceptions after having his chimes rung like that! "Bren, are you alright?   
  
Meghan was knocked out by what ever struck at Elspeth, and I'm more than a wee bit dazed..."  
  
It was then, he notised that Bren was slumped over, face down in his pizza...  
  
He picked up the younger Otherworlder, and placed him next to Meghan on the antigrav  
  
sled... "Well, House, what's wrong with them?" he inquired, worry creasing his brow...  
  
--Meghan is merely suffering from psychic overload, she should recover before long, as should you,   
  
Brian...--House told him, --However, Elspeth is beyond my sentient systems' abililty to scan. She   
  
is, like Bren, invisible to my non-sentient systems, and most every form of telemetry device known   
  
to current Terran tech levels. We can only hope she will be alright...-- 


	5. A Brave New WorldChapter Five

A Brave New World  
  
Disclaimer: All characters recognisably Marvels belong to them, the story to me.  
  
Elspeth looked around Stonehenge... Something wasn't quite right, and she couldn't place it, until she glided down from one of the keystones, and made a walking survey of a place she'd seen as a child, and read much archeological data on...  
  
As the moon appeared from behind the clouds, she realised what it was! Was Stonehenge complete here? It had been over half destroyed from what she remembered. And there was something else, she'd Felt it a few times 'back when', and here--it flooded her senses...  
  
The strange, glowing lavender "butterfly mask" spread across her face as she reached out with her mind. It illuminated her pale skin, make her visage more haunting. She Felt things, and Saw another place, with her Sight. Her physical eyes registered the moon, and Stonhenge, but her mind's eye showed her some- thing she might have once dreamed about...  
  
Moving carefully, due to the double Sight, Elle approached the main 'altar' stone in the centre of the inner ring, oblivious to the huge garnet pendent she wore...and the fact the garnet was glowing from within! Part of her remembered the Wiccan training, and the words of a simple ceremony were whisp- ered from her lips, but not in English or any of the other languages she had studied, but in one that seemed to flow from her newly emerging sense of self.  
  
The words were as old as the 'temple' she stood in, and as she danced the Calling of the Elements, she manifested her psi-blade as her Atheme (ritual dagger or sword), and plunged it into the the spring that bubbled over the altar stone with an eerie hissing...  
  
She stood there, for quite some time, entranced by the beauty of the place her Sight revealed to her, wondering how in the Havens she had known that, as the Four Winds swirled around her. Finally, she looked up at the moon, questions tumbling from her mind, ones she'd not thought to ask before...  
  
Listen, Bright Lady, I've been a loyal daughter for almost 15 years of my young life, and You have helped me through alot! I know I did alot for myself, too; but the last two weeks have been the strangest and in some ways, the most wonderful part of my life. I don't know if was You, or just some random wierd- ness...but I'm glad. she mindspoke, to noone in particular, I'd just like to know if it's going to last, and what purpose You had in mind with all this. I've always tried to do the right thing, and sometimes I've had to turn my back, because there's nothing I could do... But now, it's like I've got the power to do something for a change; and all the things that should be easy aren't... You are the only 'person' I ever really could talk to, so maybe You can hear me?? Maybe not. I don't know who or what I should choose to be anymore... There's so many questions, so many things I remember that contra dict, but I can't find any answers. Because I don't know what the quesions are at this point...  
  
Her dark violet eyes clouded with tears, I don't even remember exactly who I am. I can do things I don't remember doing, or sometimes I remember doing things that I can't do anymore... I remember dying, and then being alive again... somewhere else, but I don't remember where or who was with me... It was like I woke up from a fever dream, and eveything was different....  
  
The light breeze rose into a gentle wind from all directions, and the sudden temperature drop didn't even phase the young woman whose lavender hair had become a toy for the air elementals... She was focused on the pale silver disc of the moon far above her, and when the hand touched her shoulder, she stared in wonder at a woman more beautiful than anything her imagination could have conjured...and fell to a knee before what cuold only be the answer to her erstwhile prayer.  
  
Come, Daughter... It is not in My nature to accept subservience in the one who has merely asked for answers she rightly deserves. the woman replied, telepathicly. She took Elspeth's hand, and pulled her to her feet, guiding her to a seat on the grass within the greater ring...  
  
Back at House, Bren and Meghan were recovered from the shock of the previous evening's events. None of them had any idea where she could have gone, but they would find the patience to wait until she returned. They diverted them selves with replacing the skylight and cleaning the glass out of the kitchen, but eventually the waiting began to wear at all of them.  
  
Meghan's boredom and anxiety were alevieted as she sped through the waters with a school of dolphins. It was easy for her to become 'lost' in their carefree thoughts as they played tag-and-leap. Her body was still recognisibly humanoid, but her features and form were streamlined to the point of evolutionary perfection for her current environment...  
  
Brian happened to glance out the window, and catch the sunlight dancing off her silvery skin. He wondered at his decision to marry Lady Courtney Ross, Vice Pres of Frasier's Bank. He'd sworn he needed a woman, with education and culture; not an illiterate, simple faerie changling. Sometimes he wondered at his 'decisions'...  
  
Bren had been pacing a hole in the carpet, when House had offered to put him through the same paces he'd placed Elspeth a day or two before. He was more than a little surprised at the scope of his mystical abilites. He was no better off that Elle, as he proved to have less control over his psychic senses than she did. He wasn't surprised, in retrospect, that he had suffered worst than Meghan. But he had questions too, and perhaps Elle would have some insight when she returned?  
  
He and Brian finally made their way down to the beach, when a strange ariel shadow soared above them. Brian felt his 'sister's' mind echoing lightly down the link they'd shared since birth, she was calmer and the expression on her face lit up when she saw Bren...  
  
He jumped when a shadow fell across him, and warm hands clasped his. The sight before him was welcome, and he simply enfolded her in a bearhug. Welcome home, Elle... I was worried...  
  
She returned the gesture, I'm glad to be back... There's so much to talk about, and so much we still need to learn. But that'll wait for later. 


	6. A Brave New WorldChapter Six

X-Men: The Keye That Breaks The Locke  
  
Chapter 9/?  
  
All standard disclaimers apply. Marvel's characters belong to them, but the changes I've made belong to me. This is for entertainment only. The story is copyright to me.   
  
Elle had some of the answers she'd sought, but there were others that had yet to be answered... Bren was in this for better or worse 


End file.
